MINISTERS of Justice make advances in Hemispheric Legal cooperation

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States José Miguel Insulza, together with United States Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, closed the Seventh Meeting of Ministers of Justice or Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA VII) on April 30 in Washington, D.C.

Insulza noted that in the days in which the meeting took place that “knowledge, exchange of information and experiences have been strengthened and networks have been consolidated which will allow an improved exchange of information between national authorities.”

He further assured that the Document of Washington, which defines the role of the REMJA process, “is a great help for developing concrete, specific actions to achieve our goals.”

At the same time, Insulza called for the next REMJA meeting, which will be held in Brazil in 2010, to report on the implementation of the recommendations which call on states “to ratify the treaties that will allow us to decisively advance in the areas related to justice, legal and judicial cooperation.”   Above all, he highlighted the importance of the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and the Inter-American Convention against Corruption.

For his part, the United States Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, thanked the Secretary General for his support and affirmed that the meeting could not have been held with out the assistance of the General Secretariat. 

The Seventh Meeting of Ministers of Justice or Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA VII) adopted a series of recommendations made to member states regarding the following issues:

 - Hemispheric Trends and Legal and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters

 - Hemishperic Plan of Action against Transnational Organized Crime

 - Cybercrime

 - Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and Extradition

 - Penitentiary and Prison Policies

 - Hemispheric Cooperation on Forensic Research

 - Hemispheric Cooperation against Trafficking in Person

 - Development and Strengthening of Justice Systems in the Region

 - Justice Studies Center of the Americas (CEJA)

To read the full text of recommendations, please click here.

To access the Document of Washington, please click here.